I poked my head out of my bedroom door to see if the coast was clear. From the sunlight glaring through my window, I could tell that it was still pretty early in the morning. I had shaken Ethan awake and he was currently putting back on his rumpled clothes from last night, readying for his walk of shame. I'm glad it wasn't me having to do it.
"I don't hear or see anyone," I whispered.
Ethan finished pulling up his jeans and sighed.
"Why am I sneakin' out like this again?"
"Is this how you want people to find out we're together?" I cocked out hip.
His lips curled up and he yanked me too him placing a giant kiss on my mouth.
"Whatever you say darlin'." He purposely exaggerated the last word with his southern drawl.
"That accent is starting to grow on me," I said, our lips a millimeter apart.
"But only mine, right?"
I smiled and put a finger to my chin, "I dunno, Byron's Cajun accent is in close second."
Ethan scoffed, "Even I have a hard time understandin' him sometimes."
I kissed him back and then shoved him out the bedroom door.
"Jeez woman, you're not even goin' to let me put on my shoes?"
"I could've tossed you out in your underwear if you'd like," I grinned evilly.
"Next time, you're comin' to my place and I'll kick you out in your underwear."
"That'll leave quite the impression on our neighbors, plus what about Chloe?"
Ethan's grin that seemed to be permanently etched on his face since he woke up, faltered. He put down his shoe he was slipping on as realization sunk in.
"How should we tell her?"
I ran my hands up and down my arms, "Well I've never dated a guy with a kid before, so I have no idea."
Ethan raised a brow, "She's not my daughter."
"She might as well be now," I said without thinking.
Ethan stilled his hands again. He looked at me, a scared pair of eyes bore into my own. I had just managed to put my foot in my mouth very spectacularly. I opened my mouth to apologize but Ethan held up his hand.
"You're right." He plunked down on one of the island stools. "I guess I just didn't want to believe it until now."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I sighed.
He looked so lost. So unlike Ethan. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms arm him. It took a second, but he hugged me back.
"So you'll tell her then?"
I gently smack him upside the head.
"Kiddin'!" He put his hands up in defeat.
"Chloe's not just your responsibility, you know. She has all of us too," I pointed out.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back for keepin' her safe," Ethan said, all flirting gone.
"Well, I'm not a diamond girl, so how about you share some of the dirt on this place?"
"Bailey, there's absolutely nothin' wrong with this place, so stop lookin' for somethin'," he said like a dad scolding a child.
I was about to argue when the front door flew open. Roy rushed in and almost face planted when he saw us in the kitchen.
"Roy!" I said louder than I should have. I sounded guilty. "I can-"
"You two need to come outside, now!"
Then he ran back outside, leaving Ethan and I to follow.
"I guess we should follow him then."
We walked outside, squinting into the early morning sun. There was a small crowd of people towards the back side of the cul-de-sac. Together, we ran up only to halt at the sight red smeared on the road like a bloody chalk drawings. Roy was one of the few gathered around. He waved us over and moved out of our way so we could see more clearly.
Something that was once a human was spread all over the pavement like roadkill. The body cavity had been hollowed out viciously, almost like someone had attempted to cut the carcass in half. Tendons and flesh were scattered around the crime scene and I couldn't tell if it was on purpose or just a result of the attack.
It was difficult to guess, but I assumed the body belonged to a woman from the long strands of hair matted to the ground in blood. Any clothes were long torn away and the torso was too mangled to tell from just a glance. It was like she was laid out as a sacrificial offering to some heathen God, except for the lack of ritual symbols and items around the body.
"What the hell?" I looked to Roy for answers.
"Chris just found the body about ten minutes ago. Wyatt isn't even here yet," Roy answered.
The man who Roy pointed to when he said Chris, looked like he was about to puke.
"Did anyone see an infected?" I asked.
"Don't know," Roy said. "I just got here before I came and got you guys. Amanda's still asleep, thank god. I don't want her to have to see this."
I turned to Ethan, "Quite the safe place here, eh?"
He clenched his teeth, "I gotta go get Wyatt." He took off, sparing one last look at the crime scene.
Other curious people were starting to come out of their condos like groundhogs from their burrow. They were in for a surprise.
"Chris," I put my hand on the shocked man's shoulder. "Can you go get a large white sheet to cover the body?"
He nodded at me dumbly, his legs walking ahead of his body as he left.
"Quick thinking," Roy said.
I moved around the scene and tried to look for some footprints. With this much blood and carnage there should be a trail. I couldn't spot anything that indicated a direction. If it had been an infected, they would have left us a trail of bread crumbs, or in this case, a trail of innards to follow. They weren't known for their brain power.
It was hard, but I forced myself to kneel down and look closely at the body. If someone had told me six months ago that I would be examining a body, I would have broken down in laughter.
It didn't look like the flesh had been gnawed on. I couldn't see any visible bite marks along the extremities. Clearly whoever had done this, wasn't looking to saw into bone, but stuck to easier targets that could be cut with a very sharp knife. The arms and legs, while sliced and covered in blood, were still attached to the torso with no evidence that the killer attempted to sever the body parts.
"What are you doing?" Wyatt's authoritative voice boomed.
I looked up to see that he was talking to me.
"Trying to see what," I looked him dead in the eyes, "or who did this."
"We have people that will do that, now please step away," he commanded me.
He was still in his pajamas, clearly having been just woken up. Ethan was at his side, jerking his head, silently telling me to step away. I glared at him, but stood back up. Chris chose this moment to reappear with the sheet and handed it to me, still in a daze.
"What's that for?" Wyatt demanded.
"You really want everyone seeing a mutilated body on display?" I asked fanning the folded sheet out.
Roy grabbed one end and we gently lowered the sheet onto the body. For a brief moment I was reminded of the time we buried Taylor. I shook my head to dispel the unpleasant memory. I remembered how sad I was back then, but now all I felt was anger.
Wyatt had a duty to keep these people safe and by not catching the killer, he allowed this to happen again. He exposed me and my friends to this menace. I walked around the now covered body to Wyatt.
"What are you going to do about this? I heard this wasn't the first time someone was murdered in the streets." I got right up in Wyatt's face.
The rest of our group had decided to join the spectacle.
"Bailey?" Chloe asked, wide-eyed.
"Hey, let's go back to the condo," Ethan grabbed her hand and towed her back down the street as she complained about always being left out.
"Ho-ly shit," John said.
Zoe's face had paled at the sight and Darren stood defiant beside her. No doubt he would be a suspect again just because the stupid people here were looking for a scapegoat.
"I'm going to chalk it up to the stress of finding the body, but you need to back away," Wyatt practically growled at me.
I felt a hand curl around my arm and yank me to the side. It was John.
"Now's not the time." The way he looked at me told me not to do anything rash.
The rest of Wyatt's entourage joined us, the Sergeant among them. I watched his reaction, or lack-there-of, as he took in the sheet clad body. They started to shoo the spectators away.
"Everyone needs to head to the clubhouse for breakfast and let us handle this," Wyatt said over the murmuring that was breaking out. "The cooks have already been informed that it will be earlier than normal, so please head there now."
He looked directly at me as he finished his sentence. Most people started to walk away, but a few had to be prodded gently to start migrating towards the clubhouse. I was among those few.
"Come on, Bailey. Wyatt can take it from here," John said as he dragged me along with him.
I whispered to John, "That wasn't the work of an infected."
"Keep walkin'," John said as he glanced back.
I kept my head facing forward, knowing that Wyatt and his groupies would be watching. I was going to get a reputation as a shit-starter soon.
People were eyeing Darren as we walked, giving us a wide birth. Once we were far enough away, John leaned in beside me.
"What happened to the body?"
"Looks like someone tried to cut her in two."
John tugged at the collar of his shirt. He was already fully dressed and ready for the day.
"Sounds like what we found last time."
I looked back one last time to see them all standing around the body. Sergeant Grant was peeking under the sheet, like he didn't already know what was under there.
"I don't trust them," I mumbled.
"It shows," John said. "You gotta be more discreet."
"Our lives are at stake," I pointed out.
John held up his hands, "I just meant you gotta be less obvious about it."
That gave me an idea.
"Oh no, you got that look on your face," John frowned.
"Well, if they're not going to investigate properly then there is no reason why I can't do some digging of my own."
John leaned in closer, "What do you have in mind?"
I smiled. I half expected him to berate me.
"A little breaking and entering. I'll have to wait until Wyatt is out of his condo and I'll break in and poke around. I kind of want to see his broadcasting equipment."
"You'll be needin' someone to watch your back."
"I assume you mean you?" I raised a brow.
"Unless you know another Marine who did recon for a couple of tours," he readjusted his cowboy hat.
"Can't say that I do."
"But we're not doin' this halfcocked. We gotta plan it out properly."
"Naturally," I said as I pushed open the clubhouse door.
People were already sitting down with their breakfast. A lot of people were still in their pajamas, not caring if anyone saw their ancient, holey sweats. I guess they got a pass today because of the shitty morning we've had so far.
Zoe came up to me, "Did you see who it was?"
I shook my head, "It was really hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure it was a woman."
"Someone will report a missin' person soon," John sucked in a breath. "Then we'll have that to deal with."
"Does anyone live alone?" I asked.
"I don't think so. Most people came in with groups so they stuck together and Wyatt likes to keep it so that no one is left out, so he assigns roommates if you don't have one," Zoe answered.
"Except for him and his goonies I bet," I muttered.
John shot me a look again and I clamped my mouth shut. Darren looked at me and nodded. He must have picked up on my accusatory tone.
People were giving Darren and us by proxy, the stink eye as we walked to the serving line.
"How about we take our food back to the condo?" Zoe asked and we all agreed.
Turns out Chloe and Ethan had already gotten their breakfast and were waiting for us back at their place.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Chloe asked me exasperated.
"What did Ethan tell you?" I didn't want to step on his toes.
"He said there was an accident."
"He's right."
"You're not goin' to tell me either?" She looked hurt.
"Because I don't know what happened either," I shrugged, which was the partial truth.
She made a disapproving sound and crossed her arms.
"Do Amanda and I still have to go to school?"
"Of course," Ethan interjected even though she was asking me.
Someone pushed open the front door, almost causing me to fall off of the stool in surprise. I wasn't expecting someone else to come barreling through. Zoe stood up from the couch.
"Misha, what's wrong?" Zoe asked the sobbing girl.
The girl looked about twelve and was crying, her face puffy and red.
Chloe leaned over to me, "She's in our class too."
"It's Ms. Reina, she's dead."
At least they had identified the body already. Zoe wrapped the girl in a hug.
"It's going to be okay."
"Reina was the other teacher 'sides Zoe and Krista," Chloe filled in the blanks.
That was another link that could very loosely be traced back to Darren. He was dating Zoe and Zoe happened to work with the victim. This wasn't looking so good for him.